Pipeline Engineer

Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE: SPHR) is a premier live entertainment and media company. The Company includes Sphere, a next-generation entertainment medium powered by cutting-edge technologies to redefine the future of entertainment. The first Sphere venue in Las Vegas opened in September 2023. In addition, the Company includes MSG Networks, which operates two regional sports and entertainment networks, MSG Network and MSG Sportsnet, as well as a direct-to-consumer and authenticated streaming product, MSG+, delivering a wide range of live sports content and other programming. More information is available at sphereentertainmentco.com.

Who are we hiring?

Sphere is looking for a software engineer to join the Production Technology Pipeline team under the Senior Director of Production Technology and the Principal Pipeline Engineer. In this role, you will support a growing and diversifying set of ground-breaking productions; developing and refining tools to automate and optimize production workflows from capture to playback.

Sphere requires innovators who are used to adventuring beyond their comfort zone to solve real production challenges in collaboration with peers, stakeholders, and end users to clear today’s hurdles while building towards a better tomorrow. The extreme level of integration between disciplines requires a balanced, creative, agile approach to be successful; being able to prioritize, communicate, and see the bigger picture are required skills.

Candidates must have a proven history of creating tools for high-end VFX or other areas of post-production that are stable, well documented, easy to use, effective, and easy to maintain.

What will you do?

• Design, develop, and maintain Pipeline’s software tools.
• Support a variety of artist workflows: I/O, Editorial, VFX, Color, Sound, QC, Review, Mastering, and Delivery.
• Support a variety of production types: Exo Sphere advertisements, long-format in-venue features, real-time, etc.
• Directly collaborate with end users and stakeholders to determine scalable solutions to address problems in a user-friendly manner from proof-of-concept to deployment.
• Adhere to industry-standard conventions for coding and documentation.
• Identify potential optimizations or newer solutions to existing pipeline tools.

What do you need to succeed?

• Minimum of four years writing pipeline tools for a VFX, post, or animation facility.
• Strong understanding of software development best practices; testing, version management, etc.
• Strong experience in all major OS: Windows, Linux, MacOS.
• Strong development experience with Python.
• Familiarity with creating pipeline integrations for Nuke, Houdini, After Effects, Maya, Resolve, etc.
• Experience with version control tools: Git.
• Experience designing user interfaces with PyQt.
• Experience with Flow Production Tracking (formerly ShotGrid).
• Experience with ASWF’s Rez package management a plus.
• Experience with Deadline (or similar render manager) a plus.
• Detail oriented with excellent communication and documentation skills.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, take criticism, and work under high pressure with tight deadlines.
• Good problem solving, troubleshooting, and debugging skills.
• Ability to collaborate with team members across different disciplines including directly interfacing with stakeholders to understand requirements.